*~*~OFFFFFFFFFFF with their heads!!!!!! Oct. 19-27th 2009 TR~*~*

[Twoboysnmygirl]

Hello, hello! This is my first trip report on the DIS, although I have written personal and private trip reports before, this this will be my first big audience. Be kind or it may be OFF with YOUR head as well!

This will be a long, but fast report b/c I have much of it written up already and b/c I have a horrible compulsion to finish anything that I start, regardless of needing sleep or my children needing to be fed. I hope you enjoy!

A little background. I'm a mother of 3 who lives in rural Missouri (a St. Louis transplant) who really loves the country, but really hates it as well. I guess I still have lots of city-girl in me. My husband owns his own truck and drives over the road, he's only home once or twice a month.

Yes, it's hard (I get this a lot) but after 14 years of it, you adjust! In any case...where was I? Oh, btw, I have a tendency to ramble and forget things. I'm sure that will make it even more entertaining!

Oh, I homeschool, so I'm with my kids 24/7. We have a great time except when we don't and then watch out! I have two boys (15 & 14) and my youngest dd (turned 9 on the trip). Guess you can figure where my SN came from, right?!

So, I had never been to WDW until last year when a very good friend who has been to WDW more times than she can count, and her dd, took my dd & I. We stayed at Pop, she let me do lots of the planning and research...and of course she sent me HERE! We went in Sept. 2008 and I FELL.IN.LOVE.

What can I say? I had never been as a child and my parents never talked about it. When they did, they talked about lines and why no one would want to go there. I believed them!

So, we arrive back last year and I was planning before you knew it. Now, we are not financially what most people would call secure and planning a trip like this might take a couple years...unless you have an amazing MIL! Guess who does?

After my MIL saw the pictures, she barely gave me time to ask before she said we should all go and she would pay for it. 2010 was a good time, how about Jan? So, the planning started. Weeeelllll....I came upon the Military deal and realized that there was money to be saved by going in 2009. How convenient for me as well since I was dying to go back!

So, we decided on October 2009 during my dd's 9th birthday and that leads to our introductions!

The CAST:
Yours Truly-Karen, 36 years young

-worked hard to plan so that I was not stressed and could relax and enjoy. Doing LOTS of self-talk before the trip about how we don't have to do EVERYTHING and can slow down and enjoy on this trip. Still working on that. WDW has captured me and as silly as it sounds, I can be a KID there. I can relax and have fun and not care when I'm there and that is something that I rarely GET to do and rarely LET myself do. I never really was a kid when I was a kid, always wanted to be "grown up" and thought everything was silly or childish. WDW allows me to let go of that and I think that's why I love it so much.

My husband, Rey, he's going to be 39 in December. Old man.

-reluctant to take off work at all would sum him up. This is NOTHING new, in fact we have never scheduled a trip that he actually said he was going on. Some days he talked like he would come and others he refused to talk about it and said he couldn't afford to take off. It's a PAID trip! He did join in the fun and suggested shirts and purchased a PURPLE top hat and Pirates of the Caribbean pins to put on it, so he's not all Grumpy!

DS, 15-Dylan

-thought I was nuts for making shirts (that he said he wouldn't wear...we'll see about THAT! LOL) but was the first to pick up the "teen guide to WDW" and read it. Scared of rollercoasters b/c of a log flume he went on at 7 years old, but slowly warmed up to the idea. Looked forward to the rental house and the hot tub before going.

DS, 14-Dallas

-ALSO thought I was nuts with the shirts and thought it was amusing. Looked forward to the rides, he's my daredevil, or WAS in the past. It had been so long, I was worried that this has changed and he didn't even realize it! I thought he would love WDW if he was willing to get over the "everything there is for babies" attitude.

DD, 8-Savannah

-my WDW pro. She knows what she wants and is happy to tell you all about it. Most like me and was excited b/c we've gone together and know how fun it can be. She loved the planning, loved talking about what rides we would do and where we would eat. She was NOT happy to leave her friends for so long, but if she has to leave them, WDW is the place she wants to be. I was concerned with her that she would have a hard time doing what anyone ELSE wants to do and pitch a fit when we didn't do everything Savannah wants all the time. There are 8 of us going!

Mary (MIL)

- Paid for the whole trip, excited as ever and wanted to spend the whole time together experiencing the magic. She had been to WDW, but they didn't go to any of the parks but Animal Kingdom! She told me she didn't want to be rushed and I must make sure to tell her things 10-15 times before she actually remembers correctly. She has an issue with remembering things in a different way or hearing what she wants to hear.

Ray Sr. (FIL)

- Going along for the trip but undoubtedly won't make it a full day at any of the parks. Thank goodness for 2 cars! I fully expected him separating from us or going back to the house, crowds are not his thing. He's retired (disabled) military, so he was very proud to be helping us get our tickets. He's funny, that's where my Rey gets his humor, but he likes to push people's buttons (as you will see) for fun!

Adelita (SIL-27) I forgot to mention that I call her Dela a lot in case you wonder who I'm talking about!

- Mentally challenged and similar to Dylan and Savannah in that she wants what she wants. She loves Pooh, I made a special breakfast reservation with the Pooh characters just for her! She loves Mickey too, I have made her an activity book and journal, send her a countdown calendar. She's not the kind of person who will express how she feels, so you just have to do what you can for her and hope that somewhere in there she likes it! I worried about Mornings. She's slow to get ready in the morning (uh-oh) and does not like to get up, Mary has been preparing her and telling her that we need to get up in the morning.

So that's who we are!
Ok, I think I figured out to do the TABLE OF CONTENTS, be patient with me here!

The Digs!
Is this trip doomed?
At Last?!?!
Finally on our way...Right???
Is the hotel on fire?
Detour of t-shirts

We made it!!!!
Downtown Disney...are we in Florida? It's cold!
How many margarita's did I drink at RFC??

My baby's 9th Birthday at MK!
Mainstreet before rope drop! WOOT!
Ok, I guess I did take a lot of pictures...
Crystal Palace breakfast
Dumbo Dash anyone??
LEISURELY touring anyone?

There's always time for pixie dust!
The Smiling Ride!
Will he like rollercoasters now?
Fastpass? Who needs stinkin' Fastpass?!
Move it, Shake it!
We have to go already?

It's Roxy's Birthday
You forgot your what?!?!
It's CAKE time!

Day 2~Animal Kingdom
Safari time
Is everything at WDW in low light?
Whose that stuffing their face? Me?!?!
Who the heck are you??
It's Thumper!!!
Daddy's Girl
Oh yeah, no waits! Can I get a THANK YOU for choosing the best days pretty please?!?!?

STOOOPID Tripod!!!
Spectromagic
There's magic even without the camera, Karen

18 YEARS of MAGIC!
I swear I didn't remember that!
We may not ride anything today but lunch was worth it!
Oh NO he didn't!

Alone? WHAT'S THAT?!?!?
Ahhh, I could get used to this.

OFF WITH THEIR HEADS!
Sci-fi anyone?
It's mania
Lights! Action! Whaaa?
I got nothin' witty for this title
If this hot tub wasn't broken already, I would kick it.

Girl time at a Waterpark, just what I needed!!
Ohana means Family and Family means no one gets left behind...

BOO TO YOU!!!
and you and you...
Where's the QUEEN??
I'm not missing the fireworks again!!!
FINALLY!
and you, and you, and you...Happy Halloween!
I don't wanna go, you can't make me! *pout*

Last Day...sigh
I thought we were going to Epcot???
It's not the last day without some DRAMA!
Who needs a drink?!?!
It's all a blur now...
Goodbye WDW! Until next time...*sob*
The video that sums it all up!!

Oooooh, and GUESS WHAT? I'm doing a PRETRIP REPORT for September 2010! The fun will NEVER end if I have any say in it! Come on over...
September 2010~All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them...

 

[momoftriplets]

OK - you got me.

I'm in!

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

The DIGS:

Part of my planning was based around WHERE we would stay with such a big group of us. I had lots of options, free dining (but paying rack rate and staying onsite in small rooms), discount PINS on moderate or deluxe WDW resorts, the list goes on. After crunching numbers like a madwoman and hearing Rey proclaim that he would not swim in a public pool, I started looking for houses.

Found the perfect house, pool heating, taxes, AND an extra night were all included in the price! A 4 bedroom that backed up to a lake, pool, hot tub, gameroom...and less than 3 miles from the gate. Couldn't ask for more in a rental and the price was right!

The hot tub sealed the deal for me, I remember how sore my feet were every night from the walking and standing. The kitchen will allow for breakfasts and some dinners at the house to save money b/c we have ADR's for almost every day at 1 sitdown tableservice meal at WDW b/c this is what my MIL requested. (read: $$$$)

Rey was pleased b/c we would have our own room and a private pool, the boys thought the gameroom sounded great...Savannah was the only one who was slightly disappointed about it. She LOVED Pop and wanted to stay there again. It was really great to stay onsite and she doesn't like change but I think she'll enjoy the house.

This is why I made Disney decorated placemats and bought mickeyhead shaped macaronni (YES, I DID) It will help make it seem still like we're "at" WDW for her.

The house:

pool:

hot tub (there will be MORE stories about this thing later! Remind me if I forget)

 

[chrisw127]

I'm in! I like you already--I like to change subjects a lot too!

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

Ok, so I won't bore you with the details of months of planning and over 50 tshirts...oh yes, I said FIFTY! You'll have to keep reading to see if anyone even wore them! I told Mary not to bring any shirts at all, I had it covered!

Alright, so I will try to get to the actual trip, but there was HUGE drama right before the trip that I think you might find interesting. So, I told you Rey is a truck driver. A few weeks before the trip, he breaks down and we are told it's a 3700$ bill. We don't have it. His dad offers to put it on a card and we can pay him back. Ok, but Rey now refuses to go on the trip b/c we won't have his dad paid off by then. After his mom had a good talking to, he decided he needed to go. We don't get to spend much time together as you can imagine and this trip was already paid for. I thought for a while there he wouldn't be coming!

So, here he was in CALIFORNIA a week before the trip (remember, we live in Missouri. Pull out a map if you need to!)

All is well, he should have time when what should happen? No really, just give it a guess!...


Fine then. Truck breaks down. At this point I'm in disbelief. We have some money in the bank, but by the time they actually get it fixed, he has 3 days to run from Phoenix to Chicago (to deliver) and then get back down home to leave on the trip. 2200 miles.

He's been known to run a LOT of miles, but this was almost impossible.

We are leaving Sunday morning and by Saturday evening, he's only an hour away and it looks like all is well! And then he calls...

*oh and a side note, the rest of us were fighting nasty colds all week building up to this. I was starting to think we weren't meant to go on a vacation. Did I mention that last year we had a trip to Galveston planned and 3 weeks before the trip, WHILE I was in WDW, I found out the house we were renting was completely washed away by Ike! Bad mojo, I tell ya...

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

So, last we heard, Rey was racing home and he was going to make it just hours before leaving for the trip. I was wrapping up some last petsits and he was on his way from St. Louis when he calls me and says, "Well, it happened." ***? WHAT happened?

He says that he got shut-down in St. Clair, MO (a 45 minute drive from our house) for not having his logbook up to date. What this means is that they shut the truck down for 10 hours, it is not allowed to leave the weigh station. OMG. He got a ticket too for being 4 days behind on his logs. Now, I'm actually glad he was only behind. If he had attempted to log those 2200 miles he did in 3 days, he would have gotten a ticket for falsifying them as well.

So, he says he's not staying there and I need to come pick him up. Uh...ok. At this point I'm willing to do just about anything, I wanna go to WDW, so I drive out there and we get home at 9:30pm or something and I'm running around doing last minute stuff. The truck can be released at 4:45am. Gah!

So, we go to bed, briefly, and wake up at 4am to drive BACK to get the truck and bring it back here. THEN I have a petsit and we pack up the car. Shew! I need a vacation already. Get back on the highway (going back the same direction, might I add) and the xbox isn't working with the inverter. Really?

So we have to go back. Now, let me explain a thing or two about Podunk here. There's only an exit every 7-10 miles, give or take, so we have to drive quite a ways before turning around. We get back, they mess with it, decide they (and when I say they, I mean REY) don't need the other xbox and we're on our way. We jump on the highway, they start playing and the inverter I got for the trip won't work. Too much power for the xbox and tv (I swear I researched how much I needed, wha?). Rey took the look of death I gave him to mean we would NOT go back to the house again.

He decides we will stop at a truck stop and get a bigger inverter. Ok, but wait until we are closer to STL. To my disappointment, he stops BEFORE Starbucks, but I'm going to WDW at this point and I'm excited! I can be patient, right?!!

waiting:

So, we finally get to my favorite place outside St. Louis, and I start to perk up! I'm going to WDW AND getting coffee!

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

So we head out from Starbucks, but Rey turns the wrong way. On purpose. He's headed to a Walgreens to get TOOLS to connect the inverter he got to the battery. Seriously? (I think I overused this word on the trip)

I grabbed the kids some food at Burger King and he went about the process of attaching that dang thing. More patience. We had a 10+ hour drive ahead of us and here were were sitting in the parking lot of Walgreens. Savannah & I went in and looked around and she told me that we were going to Disney and it didn't matter. Basically told me to quit stressing out. Love that girl! We went back outside and made the best of it.

Took some pics, wrote in my journal (about how I have no patience on this trip already and need to get a grip! LOL)

Random note from journal: "This morning we left for WDW! It's off to a slow start and I am reminded to be the tree!" (this is my mantra, I'm a bit of a treehugger.)

I tried to sleep in the car a bit. I had a note in my journal about how I should look closer at the clock! I fell asleep and when I woke up, I thought it said 1:15, but it really said 11:15. I had been asleep for 15 minutes.

We stopped for lunch somewhere along the way, got quiznos. I tried to be good, but I think this was my last attempt. Got a salad. It wasn't very good. We then went to Pizza hut for Dallas and saw this guy parked:

I had fun taking some pics. This is just ONE propeller from a wind turbine. Who knew they were so big?

 

[cdhale]

Great start! Are you going to be posting all night? Am I going to have to stay up late?

Love the placemats and can't wait to see the 50 shirts

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

The rest of the day is a blur. We drove and drove and drove. Finally arrived at Drury Inn at 8:45pm and Savannah & I ran to the hot tub to get in before it closed by 10pm. Rey and the boys went to Ihop to get dinner. THIS is where my eating jumped off the track and stayed off the track until yesterday! :lol I guess I never mentioned that I'm a raw foodist, but I am most of the year. I knew I wouldn't stay raw this trip, or even vegan for that matter. I didn't eat any meat though (not that this is difficult for me! Savannah is a vegetarian as well, the guys...are NOT!)

There I go off on a tangent! Where was I?

I had a veggie omlet and some pancakes too! WOW! I was stuffed and ready for sleep, we were going to be in WDW tomorrow!!!

At this point Dylan had my cold and was not feeling too hot. He wasn't hungry and coughing occasionally. Dallas was just getting the sniffles. Uh-oh.

The hotel could have been nicer. Rey calls me a hotel snob b/c I have been to too many in my life and like staying in nice ones, but C'mon, no lightbulb in the bathroom? Sticky stuff all over the elevator floor? Fire alarm going off in the morning?

Yep, it happened! It was actually a godsend b/c when we got up the next morning, I was READY to jump in the car, but Rey decided he was on vacation and wanted to sit there forevah! Seriously? Background: Rey HATES hotels. No, HATES them. Says he can't relax in a hotel. Really? Then why are you laying there watching tv while we're all ready to go?

So, we got everything packed up while he showered. Then the fire alarm went off. It was a false alarm, but they couldn't figure it out and it kept going off. It was funny to see people standing in the halls in their pjs looking confused. If you thought your hotel was on fire, would you just stand around? So, it got him moving, we grabbed a little free breakfast downstairs and headed to Starbucks with my lucky Starbucks finder! (this is what I call my GPS that MIL got me now). It took us all over the place, but we got there!

I was pleasantly surprised when it told me that we would be there in 6 hours when I plugged in the rental house address. In hindsight, I think it accounted for the time change as well, so it was a 7 hour drive, but no matter! We were on vacation and would be arriving today! Much better spirits all around. There was a little blip in the plans when we hit a big traffic jam, but it didn't take that long.

We ate at the truck stop b/c Rey had some coupons...ick. All the veggies had BACON in them, wah? Dang truckers. We hopped back in the car ready for Florida! I could have kicked Rey when just a few moments later we drove right by the Welcome to Florida sign. Now before you go thinking poor Rey, how can he deal with such an awful wife...the man has driven into Florida HOW many times? I had my camera in my lap, he couldn't read my mind and know why?!?!?

I had to settle for this, but he joked about turning around and driving back so I could get the Welcome sign!

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

No, I won't keep you up ALL night!

I was just thinking that it won't be any fun if I post it all to fast. Besides, I need to DRAG it out b/c I've been incredibly depressed the last week since we have been home and I don't want it to end!

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

I'll leave you tonight with some of the tshirts I made (or rather the PILES of them!)

and of course, my dd didn't just have tshirts, she had WHOLE OUTFITS! Did I mention I have a planning OCD???

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

Ok, this will be the last post. I lied. I had to at least post our arrival, right??!!

At around 3:30pm we arrived!!! I think we were more excited about getting out of the car. The house was nice, not so fancy that you feel uncomfortable, but not a dump either. We had some issues during the week, which I will talk about later, but for the most part it was a great house to stay in, close to the parks and lots of space!

Savannah shared the king bed (master) bedroom with us, I knew she wouldn't sleep in a room alone or with Adelita. The boys had a room right by us with two twins and my IL's had a queen room and Dela had a twin room near them, their rooms were on the other side of the house so it gave us lots of space!

Savannah was on Rey's computer before you could blink, who knew an almost 9 year old could get so many emails in 2 days?!?!?

The guys played some pool in the gameroom (converted garage) and I checked out the hot tub...

Ah, the hot tub...was looking so forward to it, so when it was 78 degrees, I was slightly annoyed, but I'm sure it would warm up, right?

I read all the directions that were left about it, fiddled with it, had Dylan look at it, nope. Something was wrong. So, I called the management company and left a message on their machine. We were in WDW, I'm sure it would get fixed soon. Right?!?!?

Rey's parents were way behind (I never did mention that they live in TEXAS and not in MO where we live!) and said they might not even make dinner reservations that we had for 7:15 at RFC-Downtown Disney. We were supposed to go to Shades of Green to get the park tickets b/c they don't charge tax, but SOG said they stopped selling tickets at 7pm, so we realized we would have to shell out the tax and get them at DTD when they arrived. We had an early breakfast at CP and couldn't get them in the morning either.

We decided we would head to DTD on our own and explore and they could meet us there! WOOT! I was bouncing off the walls!

Rey was in the spirit too and had put his pins on his hat (although I don't think he actually wore it to DTD this night)

Here is our spider friend. She was way up in the archway in the front entrance of the house and we greeted her each day.

We found our way pretty easily, there are signs everywhere, it's kind of hard to miss!

As the sun was starting to set, I got the picture I had been waiting for, how many months had I planned and now I was here!!!

 

[cdhale]

No, I won't keep you up ALL night!

I was just thinking that it won't be any fun if I post it all to fast. Besides, I need to DRAG it out b/c I've been incredibly depressed the last week since we have been home and I don't want it to end!

Thanks! It took me nine months to start my trip report!! We had much sickness on out trip, too. Now I'm just trying to kill time before we go back in January...

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

Thanks! It took me nine months to start my trip report!! We had much sickness on out trip, too. Now I'm just trying to kill time before we go back in January...

Nine Months?!?!? How did you remember anything? Actually, I made a journal for myself (as well as for Adelita & Savannah, along with activity books...guess I'll have to post pics, huh?)

There I go again! Anyway, I made a journal for myself so I could journal each night, or as it ended up, each MORNING while I was awake and everyone else was sleeping...ahem...but I digress...

It helped to write things down because I have an awful short-term memory. My dad had Alzheimer's before he passed away and I always joke about how I probably have it (I'm only 36) but I think there might be a little truth in that joke!

 

[cdhale]

Nine Months?!?!? How did you remember anything? Actually, I made a journal for myself (as well as for Adelita & Savannah, along with activity books...guess I'll have to post pics, huh?)

There I go again! Anyway, I made a journal for myself so I could journal each night, or as it ended up, each MORNING while I was awake and everyone else was sleeping...ahem...but I digress...

It helped to write things down because I have an awful short-term memory. My dad had Alzheimer's before he passed away and I always joke about how I probably have it (I'm only 36) but I think there might be a little truth in that joke!

I did kind of a mini TR on facebook when I posted my pics, but a lot of the details have been lost I plan to do better when we go back in Jan. I used to have a really good memory, but now I blame age (34), having kids, and having MS. If I don't write it down, it's gone

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

Alright, where was I? Oh yes, we had just driven through the gates and followed the signs to DTD! WOOT! I LOVE DTD. The little twinkle lights in all the trees, music playing, the smell of those amazing waffle cones from Garadelli's and the stores! I actually put lights in the tree next to my back deck last year when I got home, trying to recreate that feel.

Now, I'm not a big spender, but I will put down some money at WDW if I have money. I brought 200$ for souvenirs, but it got spent on a myriad of stuff other than souvenirs and then I think I ended up spending MORE than that with the debit card during the trip. Oooops!

Rey and I had a little "altercation" in the parking lot b/c I had him pull in an area and then realized I was was to far down near TRex & needed to be at the other end near RFC. He got frustrated and I did as well, it was a long 2 days of driving and finally I just told him to let me drive and I drove over to entrance 1. I had forgotten about it until I read it in my journal, so it couldn't have been THAT big of a deal!

I love DTD. Did I already say that? I think Rey really liked it too! He went to DTD a couple times during the trip and spent WAY more money on souvenirs than I expected him to. Next trip I'll have to account for that. Who knew he would want a mickey head shaped beer bottle opener?!?!


I was in search of the perfect WDW hoodie, which I promptly found in the World of Disney store, but there were no XL, only medium and small. Wah! I wanted to take more pics in the WOD store, but the boys were just standing there (they don't really like shopping to begin with!) and Dallas wasn't feeling well, so I only got a couple shots.

it was dark, so some of my shots didn't come out, should have gotten that 35mm lens! (you'll hear that more than once in this TR!)

when we came out of the store, the sun was setting! Gorgeous...

Rey stopped to look at pins at a pin store, this became a quick obsession with him! There was no way his parents were going to make it on time for the 7:15 ADR, so I headed over to RFC to see if they could push it back. They couldn't even find my ressie in the system! Ack! I had called them directly! He was nice enough to give me an 8:15 (gotta love that magic!) and we went back to find Rey in the pin shop. It was pretty busy this evening in DTD and he wasn't sure about the crowds, but seemed to be enjoying himself.

It was COLD! Were we in Florida??? For the whole month of Sept. & October I had been watching the reports and everyone was burning up, heat waves and warmer than normal weather for October! Well, the weekend before we arrived (we arrived on 10-19) a cold front had come through and I was freezing. I had to laugh at that, but anything is better than sweltering in my book! The boys were annoyed with having to wait, but I was in WDW and happy as a clam to wait, I knew we had a whole week here!

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

We stood by one of the entrances for a while until Rey's parents & sister arrived, waiting for them to get parked and situated. After hugs and kisses, we all headed to guest services to get those tickets! Rey's dad seemed proud that he was getting us a discount with his military ID. It was cute!

Off to RFC we went, it was a short wait and we were seated pretty quickly. The kids liked the fish tanks, most of my shots were blurry though, I was kicking myself for not getting the lens that would have worked with lower light, but I just hadn't saved up the money for it. Grph. Next time!

I had a portobella burger, mmmm, it was good! I also had a couple margarita's. I think I had a couple? Maybe I just had one?

I think Savannah had mac-n-cheese (not much else for her most of the time b/c of not eating meat, kids meals almost always have meat and she can't stand pb&j. Wierdo!) but, she wasn't there for the dinner, she was there for the VOLCANO! This thing is montrous. I had a couple bites and everyone shared.

It was a nice dinner, Dylan even got in the spirit!

no, really, that IS him getting in the spirit!

I think we left there around 9pm and had to stop back at guest services to get Savannah her birthday button. She was happy to get it until the wonderful CM said she would sing happy birthday to Savannah. Not sure what happened, but Savannah was mortified and went running out of the building. She was crying and embarrassed, it was just too much attention for her. This is normal for her at HOME, she is very shy, but last year when we were at WDW, she loved the attention from the CMs?!? I think b/c her friend was with her. This time, not having a friend, it was just too much.

We told her she didn't have to have anyone sing to her and calmed her down, I think she was just ashamed for leaving and I felt so bad for her. We made sure to tell all the CMs at our ADRs, the rest of the week, not to sing to her please and they were all very nice about it.

We finally headed back (froze our arses) to the house to get Rey's folks settled in and head to bed at around 11pm! We had an EARLY morning, reservations at Crystal Palace (I made this especially b/c Dela LOVES Pooh) at 8:15 before the park opened.

Would I get them up??? THIS became the question of the WEEK.

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

I hope I'm doing ok, is anyone out there???


Soooo...They DID get up. (it was the ONLY day though!) I was amazed and delighted! It was my baby's 9th birthday, so we put out her gift and a card and she got to open that before leaving for Magic Kingdom.

She got another American Girl. She loves these dolls and we figure she won't have too many more years where she'll want dolls, so we were happy to get her another when this is really all she wanted.

I was amazed when they were all up, showered & ready to go. We arrived at the parking lot to MK around 7:20am! ahem...the last time I would get a sunrise pic of any of the parks...

the sun was coming up from the monorail:

I cannot tell you how excited I was. I just tried to take everything in and enjoy each second!

We went through bag check and got in line with some other people that were there early for reservations. Rope drop for the park wasn't until 9am and I was hoping we would be done with breakfast, but knew it wasn't that big of a deal if we weren't. We were in MK!!!

Mary & Dela. Keep in mind that in most pics Dela doesn't smile. When Mary tells her to smile, she says, "I am!" I did catch a rare smile during the trip, and she really did love the trip and enjoy herself, you just can't tell in the pics. To be honest, my boys are similar, they don't like pictures, but they enjoyed the trip!

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

When I went to MK with my friend a year ago, we arrived at rope drop and practically RAN down mainstreet...it was the Dumbodash and our first trip. Although I appreciate that I didn't have to wait in lines that first trip, I missed out on mainstreet and wanted to take it easier this time.

I made this early breakfast at CP b/c I knew we would get in early and I would be able to take my time and get some pictures that I wanted. I could have used even more, but it was certainly more leisurely than last time! LEISURELY became the word that was thrown around quite a bit on this trip, but it seemed to me that everyone wanted to be leisurely (read: walk crazy slow) but when I wanted to take pictures, I couldn't be leisurely. Ahem.

So, here I am on mainstreet before MK has opened, and it was wonderful, magical, lovely...although I obviously had poor settings on my camera b/c my shots came out strange. But who cares?! Not me! I'm in Disney World! :

Dylan is a goon!

Dallas REALLY hates taking pictures. It was funny though, he really liked WDW more than he thought he would and Dylan liked it less (b/c he doesn't like the g-force or any kind of drop in rides)

More pics from mainstreet! We got photopass pics too, which I will get in a couple weeks.

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

I did practically run up to the castle at this point b/c everyone was getting annoyed with my picture taking and apparently I was taking too long. Not so leisurely, huh?

Here's a group shot, don't we look happy? I stopped bothering with group shots after a couple when I realized they just don't translate well for our family. Candids are more our style and my IL's just don't smile in group shots!

Tried to get some more shots of the castle in the morning light, here are some...